14 – Ben Smith (New Zealand):
He showed just how good he can be in a quality team, given that he played for the struggling Highlanders and still performed in Super Rugby.Bubbling under: Bjorn Basson (South Africa)

13 – Conrad Smith (New Zealand):
Maybe not as flashy as some other centres, but the guile of his hands and fluency of his feet make him the world’s premier outside centre.Bubbling under: JJ Engelbrecht (South Africa)

12 – Jean de Villiers (South Africa):
Some of his critics will claim it was a poor Argentinean team, but the manner in which he burst through in the midfield on a couple of occasions, along with the defenders he beat on other occasions, shows he is not near his sell-by date yet.Bubbling under: Ma’a Nonu (New Zealand)

11 – Bryan Habana (South Africa):
Some interesting debates around the left wing position, with Habana winning the final vote because O’Connor missed a couple of tackles.Bubbling under: James O’Connor (Australia)

10 – Aaron Cruden (New Zealand):
It would be interesting to see how the All Black backline shapes up now that Cruden and Dan Carter have been ruled out.Bubbling under: Morné Steyn (South Africa)

9 – Fourie du Preez (South Africa):
They say you don’t know what you have until it is no longer available. Du Preez required just half-an-hour in his return match to ram home that statement.Bubbling under: Aaron Smith (New Zealand)

8 – Kieran read (New Zealand):
He does so much, but his most valuable work was done on defence and in the line-outs.Bubbling under: Duane Vermeulen (South Africa)

7 – Willem Alberts (South Africa):
Some vigorous debate, as opinions differed markedly. Alberts eventually edged the others because – apart from one ball he lost in contact – it was an afternoon in which he inflicted much paid on the opposition – both on defence and carrying the ball.Bubbling under: Michael Hooper (Australia)

6 – Francois Louw (South Africa):
Maybe his carrying stats are not that impressive, but the amount of work he did on defence more than justifies his selection.Bubbling under: Steven Luatua (New Zealand)

5 – Sam Whitelock (New Zealand):
Despite his yellow card, he still gets our vote – the highest tackle count in the match and did his job in the line-outs.Bubbling under: Juandre Kruger (South Africa)

4 – Eben Etzebeth (South Africa):
There was no need for a debate, we all know why he is regarded as the best.Bubbling under: Luke Romano (New Zealand)

3 – Jannie du Plessis (South Africa):
It has been a while since a Bok prop was so keen on scrumming, begging and pleading with his captain to take scrums instead of kicking for touch or at goal.Bubbling under: Owen Franks (New Zealand)

2 – Adriaan Strauss (South Africa):
He must now be close to the world’s best hooker.Bubbling under: Stephen Moore (Australia)

1 – James Slipper (Australia):
He may have slipped a tackle, but his workrate on defence was immense – just a pity he didn’t get much support from some of his teammates when the All Blacks started their rout.Bubbling under: Tony Woodcock (New Zealand)

Jason Hennessy

Jason is the editor at RugbyLAD. Any queries big or small you can reach him at [email protected]